Ever since Atlanta Dream star Angel Reese entered the league the knock on her was limited offensive abilities. Known for her rebounding prowess, toughness and grit, Reese has never been considered a great offensive player.
But, after her last two performances the former LSU Tigers national champion and perennial WNBA All-Star may be changing the narrative around her as an offensive player. In back-to-back wins for the surging Atlanta Dream (24-13), Reese went 23 of 30 from the field, including a 9-for-9 game and last night’s career-high game with 31 points while shooting 14 of 21 from the field in 99-89 road victory over the Phoenix Mercury.
Reese Talks Hot Stretch
In the aftermath of her career-high performance, which also included 14 rebounds Reese talked about how her approach has paid off on the floor.
“Just staying poised and not letting anybody speed me up,” Reese said. “I think I’m at my best when I’m around the basket, so just staying confident in the shots I know I can make around the basket, the shots that I work on in practice. Just taking my time and finishing those. I knew they were going to step up and trap or hedge our guards, so I knew I was going to be open down low. I just had to finish.”
Reese’s breakout performance also helped the Dream clinch a playoff berth for the fourth consecutive season. She has set the Atlanta single-season record for double-doubles (26) second-most in a WNBA season, and just three shy of the league record.
Reese’s Coach Praises Her Improvement
The marked improvement of “Atlanta Barbie” has excited Dream head coach Karl Smecko who praised his star player during his postgame interview in Phoenix.
“I think she keeps getting better and keeps being able to expand her game,” he said. “I think she really found her opportunities to be physical. They weren’t really sending doubles, so she had her opportunities to catch the ball in the short and do some post moves to score. She was able to get behind on some ball screens for some layups where our guards were able to find her, got a couple of putbacks.
“She was scoring in a multitude of ways, had a really great fourth quarter for us, and it’s good to see her have one of her best games of her career, offensively.”
Fans Chime In On Reese’s Sudden Offensive Outburst
Despite her recent stellar play, trolls still didn’t miss the opportunity to take shots at Reese via social media.
“Why do we give a crap about a 42-19-74 career shooter who averages 1.5 airballs a game,” a critic said.
“She’ll lose in playoffs, throw teammates under the bus, throw a tantrum and move to another team. Wash, rinse, repeat,” another fan said.
“You came to Atlanta cause you had no choice,” someone replied.
“Those are called Me-bounds from shooting bricks,” another commenter added.
One person pointed out “Caitlin Clark has exceeded 31 points six times.”
Sounds like the “Clarksies” (Caitlin Clark fans) are not happy about Reese’s steady improvement on the offensive end.
